Introduction

No Compromises

If you are shopping for a casing, it is hard to ignore Corsair’s offerings these days. While they may be relatively new in the casing scene and may be priced a little more exorbitantly than the competition, their casings have gained a reputation for being well built and extremely functional.

We have spoke about Corsair’s aim to diversify its product offerings in earlier reviews, and at CES 2014, Corsair showcased a range of new casings, PSUs and gaming peripherals to further expand on its product portfolio.

One casing that caught our attention is the Obsidian Series 250D. The Obsidian Series 250D is the company’s first ever Mini-ITX casing and has been positioned as a no compromise Mini-ITX casing for enthusiasts and gamers.

Here’s a quick look at its key specifications:

Casing Dimensions & Specifications

Height: 290mm

Width: 277mm

Depth: 351.2mm

Material: Aluminum / SECC metal / Plastic

Case color: Black

Motherboard support: Mini-ITX

Drive Bays & Expansion Slots / Ports

1 x external 5.25-inch drive bay

2 x internal 3.5 / 2.5-inch drive bays

2 x expansion slots

2 x USB 3.0 ports

Headphones, microphone jacks

Case Cooling

Front: 1 x 140mm fan (included)

Rear: 2 x 80mm fans (optional)

Side: 2 x 120mm fans (1 included)

Power Supply

Standard ATX PS2

Design & Features

Corsair’s casings are not the most stylish or flamboyant looking, and the new Obsidian Series 250D is no different. With the exception of the brushed aluminum front panel and a see through window panel on the roof, there are no other distinct design flourishes to speak off, and overall, it resembles a big black box. That said, it looks solidly put together and it feels that way too. Corsair has certainly not skimped on materials and the combination of thick SECC steel and high quality plastics mean that the Obsidian Series 250D exhibits no sign of flexing and feels like a quality product.

The casing also has a generous amount of cooling options despite its modest size. Up front is a 140mm fan that comes with the case and inside the casing are mounting points to install two 120mm fans on the side - one 120mm is provided by Corsair. These side mounting points can also be used for liquid cooling radiators of up to 240mm in length. Users can also opt to additional fans in the rear - there are mounting points for two 80mm ones.

BitFenix Prodigy and Cubitek Mini-Tank - the Corsair takes up 12% less space in terms of volume. This is pretty impressive considering Corsair claims it can accommodate PSUs of up to 200mm long and full-length graphics cards of up to 290mm. However, it is considerably larger (around 23%) than the last Mini-ITX casing we reviewed - the Silverstone Sugo Series SG09.

Overall, the design of the Obsidian Series 250D is sound and the build quality is very good. However, we do have a misgiving that we would like to raise. Much to our disappointment, we found the dust filters on the side panels to be shoddily made. They are glued onto magnetic strips and we found that they come off pretty easily because the adhesive used is weak.